Kimmel Blasts Trump and Greene’s Epstein Feud on Late-Night Return, Fueling G.O.P. Revolt Backlash

By James Poniewozik and Catie Edmondson Washington — Dec. 1, 2025

Jimmy Kimmel, the ABC late-night host whose show has become a lightning rod for the Trump administration’s media skirmishes, unleashed a scorching monologue on Sunday night excoriating President Donald J. Trump and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for their public implosion over the Jeffrey Epstein files, dubbing the clash a “MAGA soap opera where the only thing getting exposed is the rot inside the Republican Party.” The segment, aired amid Mr. Trump’s abrupt reversal on signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act last week, arrived as Ms. Greene’s resignation from Congress loomed after the president branded her a “traitor” for championing the bill’s release. With the House vote on the measure set for Tuesday and G.O.P. fissures widening, Mr. Kimmel’s eruption — viewed by 3.5 million and clipped into 20 million X views — has supercharged the revolt, drawing rebukes from White House aides and cheers from Democrats betting on midterm gains from the chaos.

The feud between Mr. Trump and Ms. Greene, once one of his fiercest Capitol Hill defenders, erupted publicly on Nov. 14 when the president withdrew his endorsement of the Georgia Republican on Truth Social, calling her “wacky,” a “ranting lunatic” and a “disgrace” for co-sponsoring a bipartisan discharge petition to force the Justice Department’s hand on Epstein’s records. Ms. Greene, who joined Democrats and victims’ advocates at a Sept. 3 Capitol press conference demanding transparency, argued the files — including unredacted emails, flight logs and investigative memos — would expose a “corrupt elite” shielded by power, not just Mr. Trump, whom she insisted she still supported despite his veto threats. “The country deserves the truth, not cover-ups for the rich and powerful,” she told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Nov. 16, her voice steady but eyes flashing with the defiance that defined her MAGA rise.

Mr. Trump, facing mounting pressure from within his party — including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who led the petition — signed the act on Nov. 19 in a “stunning reversal” aimed at quelling the uprising, per NPR analysis. But the damage was done: Ms. Greene announced her resignation effective Jan. 5 on Nov. 21, citing in a tearful X video the president’s “toxic attacks” that had endangered her family and “torn MAGA apart.” “It’s all come down to the Epstein files,” she said, flanked by survivors who credited her advocacy but decried Mr. Trump’s initial stonewalling as “insanely the wrong direction.” The move, triggering a special election in her safely red district, has Democrats salivating over a potential pickup, with the DCCC already pledging $2 million.

Mr. Kimmel, taping his first post-Thanksgiving show from Hollywood, wasted no time weaving the scandal into his opener. “Welcome to the Epstein Files Revolt — where Trump and his favorite conspiracy theorist finally agree on something: How to make America watch them fight like cats in a sack,” he quipped, flashing split-screen clips of Mr. Trump’s “traitor” rant and Ms. Greene’s resignation video. “Donald calls her wacky? Pot, kettle, orange — and now she’s quitting because he won’t let the sun shine on his old pal Jeffrey. This isn’t a clash; it’s a clown car pileup.” The host pivoted to the human toll, interviewing Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre via satellite: “Marjorie stood with us — Trump stood in the way. Now the files are coming, but at what cost to truth?” The emotional exchange, punctuated by Mr. Kimmel’s rare gravitas — “This isn’t funny; it’s felony” — drew a standing ovation and immediate viral fury, with #EpsteinRevolt trending alongside #KimmelDropsTruth.

The White House response was volcanic. Mr. Trump, back in D.C. after Mar-a-Lago, fired off a pre-dawn Truth Social post Monday: “Kimmel the LOSER attacks me and LOYAL Marjorie — who’s quitting like a WEAK quitter! Epstein HOAX is over — files out soon, and it’s NOTHING! Late-night trash ratings tanking — FCC, do your job!” Aides described a “meltdown briefing” in the Situation Room, where Chief of Staff Susie Wiles clashed with press secretary Karoline Leavitt over blaming Ms. Greene: “She’s the villain now? That’ll rally the base.” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, fresh from pressuring ABC over Mr. Kimmel’s prior suspension, announced a “review” of Sunday’s episode for “defamatory content,” prompting Disney to issue a defiant statement: “Satire isn’t sedition — it’s speech.”

Ms. Greene, holed up in Atlanta amid death threats she blamed on Mr. Trump’s barbs, fired back on X: “Kimmel’s right — this revolt is real, and Trump’s fury proves it. I fought for victims, not vendettas. MAGA deserves better than a bully in the Oval.” Her post, viewed 4 million times, drew support from unexpected quarters: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a fellow firebrand, tweeted: “MTG’s exit hurts — Trump’s attacks on allies must stop. Release the files, heal the party.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged détente on Fox: “This civil war over Epstein? It’s suicide for ’26 — Donald, call Marjorie, make peace.”

Democrats, eyeing the G.O.P.’s self-inflicted wounds, mobilized. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., hailed Mr. Kimmel on MSNBC as a “truth serum for Trump’s toxins,” while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., fast-tracked the files vote for Tuesday, predicting 50 Republican defections. “Greene’s revolt isn’t isolated — it’s the canary in the MAGA coal mine,” Mr. Schumer said, referencing off-year losses in Virginia and New Jersey tied to shutdown optics. Polling from Emerson College showed Mr. Trump’s approval at 40 percent, with independents citing the Epstein saga as a “corruption wake-up call.”

For Mr. Kimmel, 57, the monologue was a high-wire act blending levity and legacy. Suspended in September over Charlie Kirk assassination jabs, he returned defiant, his ratings up 25 percent to 2.9 million. “Late-night’s not just jokes — it’s journalism with punch lines,” he told guests post-taping, per a network source. Allies like Stephen Colbert, podcast-bound after CBS axed his show, tweeted: “Jimmy exposes what Trump hides — files, feuds, failures.” Seth Meyers quipped: “Trump vs. Greene on live TV? It’s ‘Real Housewives of Mar-a-Lago,’ but with more subpoenas.”

The clash traces months of MAGA tension: Ms. Greene’s initial Epstein push in July, when she stood with survivors decrying Mr. Trump’s DOJ closure of the probe; his veto threat in October, overridden by a 312-120 House tally; and her Nov. 18 presser with victims, where she lamented: “Transparency shouldn’t be treason.” Historians like Julian Zelizer liken it to Gingrich’s 1998 fall: “Trump’s loyalty litmus test backfires when the faithful flip — Epstein’s ghosts haunt MAGA more than Democrats.”

As files trickle out — first batch due Dec. 20 — the revolt endures. Mr. Trump floated a “unity call” with Ms. Greene, but her silence speaks volumes. In Washington’s echo chamber, Kimmel’s eruption isn’t just TV — it’s the spark illuminating a party aflame. For Trump, the real revolt isn’t Greene’s; it’s the base watching their emperor’s feuds without clothes.